The U.S. has more than 420 million acres of “working” forests, which provide timber for construction, as well as pulp for paper and packaging. Apart from these economic benefits for communities, such forests provide clean air and water and wildlife habitat. Nearly 45 million acres of these forests are at risk of being lost to development.
In a precedent-setting move, electronics giant Apple and the Conservation Fund have agreed to purchase more than 36,000 acres of working forestland in Maine and North Carolina, ensuring that these forests stay forests and that any timber harvested is harvested in a sustainable fashion.
Apple will provide the financial resources and the Conservation Fund will develop the legal and financial mechanisms required. This large tract of forest has significant ecological value in terms of protecting threatened wildlife, water and soil resources, and as a carbon sink. And it has significant economic value in terms of supporting employment.
Apple has been aggressively implementing renewable energy generation at its data centers and other facilities. In establishing this working forest partnership, the company has expressed the belief that paper, like energy, can be a renewable resource, and is striving to supply 100% of the virgin fibers used in its paper and packaging from sustainably managed forests or controlled wood sources.
The loss of America’s working forests to being sold or broken up is a serious threat to jobs and to the environment. In establishing this partnership, Apple is leading by example and the Conservation Fund is hopeful that other companies will follow in their footsteps.
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Apple Forges Historic Partnership on Forests
Photo, posted July 11, 2014, courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management (Oregon/Washington) via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.